It’s been a hot topic on the radio for weeks. Now, “BURN,” the Detroit Fire Department documentary, returns for an exclusive showing at the AMC Livonia 20 and AMC Forum 30, Sterling Heights.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said producer/director Brenna Sanchez of the response the movie has been getting. From Detroit to Texas and back again, crowds are showing up see this American story about struggle, hope and personal courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

The 86-minute documentary was produced and directed by Tom Putnam and Sanchez, who grew up on the east side of Detroit. Actor Denis Leary is executive producer. Sanchez got her start as a writer and editor for magazines such as “Hour Detroit,” and while “BURN” is her directorial debut, she has worked on several documentaries including “Johnny Cash’s America” (Sony/A&E Indie Films).

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The idea for this film came after an arson fire killed Detroit firefighter Walter Harris in 2008. He died when the roof of a vacant house collapsed on him as he fought the fire. When Sanchez asked Detroit firefighters why anyone would risk their life for an abandoned building, she learned there was no simple answer, only a bigger truth that wasn’t being told.

At first, Detroit firefighters were hesitant to do a documentary, but once they saw that the two weren’t out to be sensational, but had something a little more serious in their hearts and minds, cameras rolled at Engine Company 50, one of the busiest firehouses in America. Before they knew it, they amassed more than 1,000 hours of footage.

“We started out making a movie about them and pretty quickly we were making a movie with them,” said Sanchez. To do this, they became part of the brigade, on alert, but with no sliding down poles or pretending to be firefighters who can wake from a dead sleep, jump in their gear and be out the door in seconds. For their part, Sanchez said they slept with their clothes, coat and boots on, and with lenses in their pockets. “Technically, it was very challenging,” Sanchez said. “We wanted it to be very strong, cinematically. It wasn’t just about following a firefighter but being able to capture what he or she is doing and the action that’s happening.”

That required filmmakers to be as elegantly tuned in, and as calm as the firefighters were at the scene. On average, Detroit responds to about 35 fires a night, so the film has no shortage of action. Some of the firefighting was shot from helmet cameras worn by firefighters such as Sgt. Jeff Urbas of Washington Township, who has 21 years on the job. “We melted a few of them,” Urbas said of the helmet cams, “but the footage they grabbed was second to none, unbelievable.”

As audiences see, unbelievable also describes the struggles of being a first responder in a bad economy. Brendan “Doogie” Milewski, of Washington Township, is a 33-year-old retired Detroit firefighter who was left paralyzed from the chest down after a wall collapsed at a fire. His life, after the incident, is chronicled in the film. Anyone close to a firefighter knows they have nicknames, often serving as a means of humor when they’re fighting back tears. Milewski joined the DFD when he was 20, earning the nickname Doogie, like the teenage doctor in the 1990s TV series, “Doogie Howser, M.D.”

“When I was a kid I spent the night at a friend’s house,” Milewski said. In the middle of the night they woke to see that the neighbor’s house was on fire, and that the fire department was on the scene. “They pulled three people out and two other people didn’t make it.” Witnessing all of this, the guys rushing into a burning building, fighting the fire, saving people, saving property, planted the seed. “The images of something like that don’t go away. It was crazy, scary and admirable at the same time. I was drawn to it,” Milewski said. For senior firefighter Dave Miller of St. Clair Shores, also featured in the film (the guy fixing the bell alarms) the job was inherent. His father was one of the men in the trenches, battling fires while dodging bullets, during the Detroit riots.

In those days, everybody chipped in to help. Dave DeRush, a senior firefighter with the Windsor Fire Department said it was not uncommon for the WFD to travel across the border to support Detroit. “My father (Bob DeRush) was a firefighter in Windsor and one of the guys who helped during the riots. That’s how it is. Once you’re a firefighter, you’re part of a big family,” said DeRush, who attended the film’s premiere at the Fillmore as an honor guard for WFD. “It was absolutely fantastic,” he said of “BURN.” “It really shows the camaraderie that exists, and how these guys are sticking together, even down the tough road.”

For Detroit firefighters, the tough road is paved with poor wages, layoffs, faulty equipment and an uncertain future. “I was nine people away from becoming a sergeant,” Miller said. “Now I’m about 100 people away.”

“We have equipment failures, but nothing like these guys,” said DeRush. “It’s amazing what they’re doing, despite it all.”

“They’re very proud and amazing firefighters,” said Al “Willoughby” Wood, WFD district chief and a firefighter for 33 years. When firefighters get together, they traditionally share stories about their adventures in firefighting. “Whenever we’ve had the chance to get with these guys, we listen,” Wood said,

As “BURN” shows, fire departments (around the world) also watch Detroit to learn.

Wood recalled one incident when firefighters from Windsor and Detroit attended an international auto extrication competition. Most of the big city FDs in attendance — Chicago, LA, Toronto — saw it as an opportunity to show off their new fancy-schmancy trucks and equipment. “They (DFD) pulled up in a four-wheel drive that someone might use for deer hunting,” Wood said. “Then proceeded to muffle the snickers with the best extrication demonstration anyone had ever seen. They’re not about glitz and glitter, but proud, dedicated and very good at what they do.”

“We’ve been humbled and quiet for too long,” said Milewski, who traveled to openings around the country in support of the film and the message it conveys about the importance of supporting firefighters and other first responders. “There has never been a more real representation of the fire service. I really think this film has the potential to change minds at the voting booth.”

Now playing in theaters

“BURN: One Year on the Front Lines to Save Detroit” is showing through Dec. 12 at AMC Forum 30, 44681 Mound Road, Sterling Heights, and AMC Livonia 20, 19500 Haggerty Road. Check www.amctheatres.com for show times or visit www.detroitfirefilm.org.